Fellowship of the Bellows
Encyclopedia
The Fellowships of the Bellows were loosely organised international groups formed during World War II
to collect funds for the purchase of aircraft for the Royal Air Force
. Lord Beaverbrook
, owner of the Daily Express
and Minister of Aircraft Production
in Winston Churchill
's war cabinet
, and soon to be Minister of Supply
, said at the end of 1940:
in October 1940, when a group of young British and Anglo-Argentine men from Buenos Aires
: "... formed, half in fun and half in earnest, the Fellowship of the Bellows. Aim: "to raise the wind" for purchasing Hurricane
and other fighter planes for the RAF. Method: each member contributes one Argentine centavo (4¢[US]) for each Axis plane downed during the month.
The name may have been chosen because it fitted in with the name of the aeroplane, Spitfire
s as were, coincidentally Whirlwind
s and Tornado
s. In 1940 a Spitfire or a Hurricane cost about £
5,000 and in November more than £2,500 was collected in Argentina.
Similarly in Brazil some British citizens looked for a way to help the British war effort. An initial "Spitfire Fund" was started, and donations bought Spitfires for the RAF. These aircraft purchased were identified with the names of the fundraisers which were painted on the side of the engine or under the canopy. Seeking to widen the scope of the campaign, the owner of Sloper's department store, with the help of the Brazilian Telephone Company, began a telephone campaign to obtain more donations. Also known as the Fellowship of the Bellows this was a complete success:
The Fellowship helped with the purchase of de Havilland Mosquito
s for No. 692 Squadron RAF
shortly after it was formed in January 1944.
in the Dutch West Indies the Rotary Club
founded the Curaçao chapter of the Fellowship of the Bellows, and in addition it spearheaded a drive to acquire a Red Cross lifeboat and helped establish the Prins Bernhard Foundation
. Each of these channeled financial help to the mother country (the Netherlands
) and Britain
. Aruba
in the same island group had a similar group.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to collect funds for the purchase of aircraft for the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. Lord Beaverbrook
Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook
William Maxwell "Max" Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, Bt, PC, was a Canadian-British business tycoon, politician, and writer.-Early career in Canada:...
, owner of the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
and Minister of Aircraft Production
Minister of Aircraft Production
The Minister of Aircraft Production was the British government position in charge of the Ministry of Aircraft Production, one of the specialised supply ministries set up by the British Government during World War II...
in Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
's war cabinet
War Cabinet
A War Cabinet is a committee formed by a government in a time of war. It is usually a subset of the full executive cabinet of ministers. It is also quite common for a War Cabinet to have senior military officers and opposition politicians as members....
, and soon to be Minister of Supply
Minister of Supply
The Minister of Supply was the minister in the British Government responsible for the Ministry of Supply, which existed to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to the national armed forces...
, said at the end of 1940:
All the fighters and all the bombers that we lost during the months the battleBattle of BritainThe Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
has raged over Britain have been paid for in full, completely and entirely, by public subscription.
Argentina and Brazil
The name and concept of Fellowship of the Bellows probably started in ArgentinaArgentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
in October 1940, when a group of young British and Anglo-Argentine men from Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
: "... formed, half in fun and half in earnest, the Fellowship of the Bellows. Aim: "to raise the wind" for purchasing Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
and other fighter planes for the RAF. Method: each member contributes one Argentine centavo (4¢[US]) for each Axis plane downed during the month.
The name may have been chosen because it fitted in with the name of the aeroplane, Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
s as were, coincidentally Whirlwind
Westland Whirlwind (fixed wing)
The Westland Whirlwind was a British twin-engined heavy fighter developed by Westland Aircraft. It was the Royal Air Force's first single-seat, twin-engined, cannon-armed fighter, and a contemporary of the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane. It was one of the fastest aircraft when it flew in...
s and Tornado
Hawker Tornado
-See also:-Bibliography:* Darling, Kev. Hawker Typhoon, Tempest and Sea Fury. Ramsgate, Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK: The Crowood Press Ltd., 2003. ISBN 1-86126-620-0....
s. In 1940 a Spitfire or a Hurricane cost about £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
5,000 and in November more than £2,500 was collected in Argentina.
Similarly in Brazil some British citizens looked for a way to help the British war effort. An initial "Spitfire Fund" was started, and donations bought Spitfires for the RAF. These aircraft purchased were identified with the names of the fundraisers which were painted on the side of the engine or under the canopy. Seeking to widen the scope of the campaign, the owner of Sloper's department store, with the help of the Brazilian Telephone Company, began a telephone campaign to obtain more donations. Also known as the Fellowship of the Bellows this was a complete success:
The main body of the group were students and shop workers. Each member of the Bellows paid a monthly subscription. The club eventually reach ten BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian States and in 1942 raised the amount of £80,000 sterling.
The Fellowship helped with the purchase of de Havilland Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
s for No. 692 Squadron RAF
No. 692 Squadron RAF
No. 692 Squadron RAF was a light bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.-History:The squadron was formed on 1 January 1944 at RAF Graveley, Huntingdonshire as a light bomber unit, equipped with Mosquito Mk.IV bombers, as part of the Light Night Striking Force of No. 8...
shortly after it was formed in January 1944.
Curaçao
In CuraçaoCuraçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
in the Dutch West Indies the Rotary Club
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
founded the Curaçao chapter of the Fellowship of the Bellows, and in addition it spearheaded a drive to acquire a Red Cross lifeboat and helped establish the Prins Bernhard Foundation
Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds
The Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds was founded by Prince Bernhard of The Netherlands in London in 1940 during World War II in order to buy war material for the British and Dutch Governments. It continued after the war as Stichting Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds aiming to rebuild cultural life in the...
. Each of these channeled financial help to the mother country (the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
) and Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
in the same island group had a similar group.
Other groups
Other places in the Americas with such groups were:- ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
- Falkland IslandsFalkland IslandsThe Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
- MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
- New Orleans
- ParaguayParaguayParaguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
- PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
- UruguayUruguayUruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
- VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
Fellowship of the Bellows RAF squadrons
Aircraft purchased through groups of Fellowship of the Bellows went in particular to these squadrons:- No. 193 Squadron RAFNo. 193 Squadron RAFNo. 193 Squadron RAF was a fighter squadron of the Royal Air Force during World War II.-History:No. 193 Squadron was formed at RAF Harrowbeer, Devon on 18 December 1942 as a fighter/ground attack unit...
- No. 263 Squadron RAFNo. 263 Squadron RAFNo 263 Squadron was an Royal Air Force fighter squadron formed in Italy towards the end of World War I. After being disbanded in 1919 it reformed in 1939 flying mainly strike and heavy fighter aircraft until becoming No 1 Squadron in 1958.-First World War:...
- No. 692 Squadron RAFNo. 692 Squadron RAFNo. 692 Squadron RAF was a light bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.-History:The squadron was formed on 1 January 1944 at RAF Graveley, Huntingdonshire as a light bomber unit, equipped with Mosquito Mk.IV bombers, as part of the Light Night Striking Force of No. 8...